In the wake of American Players Theatre's 2009 season, which saw the triumphant debut of the indoor Touchstone Theatre, the Spring Green company has released its eight-play lineup for next year.
"I'll never forget my first time here," says David Frank of American Players Theatre in Spring Green. "It was a very hot July; the Porta-Potties had a pretty obnoxious smell. I was at a matinee and it was like being on a griddle. And there were 300 people watching an uncut production of The Winter's Tale. I thought, that's some audience!" laughs Frank, his vivid blue eyes sparkling as he recalls the summer of 1991.
American Players Theatre bucks all the current trends in American theater, in spite of its out-of-the-way location. Each season, it attracts an impressive group of artists who are willing to weather the unique circumstances of making theater in a place that might be more suited to a wilderness camp or religious cult. They come because the leaders of APT know the value of an institution that supports artists in their work.